The Pet Sitter (An Undertale Fanfic)
by Greg Jonson
Summary: /POST-PACIFIST\ An unofficial, kind-of-but-not-really sequel to Pastry Pandemonium by 'ElectricSnowman'. Madstablook and Muffet seem to be hitting it off as a couple, so he's obviously her first choice when she needs a favour. What could possibly go wrong, right? (I will finish this story eventually, but now it's on pause.)
1. Prologue - The Phone Call

_Sooo, guess what? I'm back with more Undertale. :D I didn't plan for this, honestly. This whole idea was a spurr of the moment. I've been following a certain Sarah, also known as FireBird-Mutation on Deviantart, also known as ElectricSnowman on **this** website, for a while now. She, among other things, wrote an adorable fanfiction (and drew a comic based off that fanfiction, too!) where Maddy and Muffet started dating, and I don't know why, but I've really grown fond of the Muffy ship. :3_  
 _This story was originally supposed to be a one-shot for my Stories From Undertale collection, but seeing how long even the first part got as I wrote it, I decided it needs a file of its own. :D I hope ya'll enjoy it!_

* * *

 **PROLOGUE: The Phone Call**

The air was still filled with the energy of the storm that just passed by. No matter how long they've been on the surface, he was still having pretty tough time accepting that there was such thing as weather.

That being said, this mood of the world -the one right after a furious storm, when the raw nature's power was only beginning to slowly fade away -was somewhat peaceful to him. And that was saying a lot, considering he was the least peaceful being within a thousand mile radius. Perhaps his near constant anger depleated along with all the energy from above.

And on yet another plus side, snails seemed to love this kind of weather as well, emerging from above the wet grass and playing near the temporary puddles of rainwater. Maddy sat on a stub in front of Undyne's house and watched the little creatures crawl around with a rare smile on his cotton face.

It was a still, happy and quiet moment.

"HEY, PUNK!"

The ghost nearly jumped out of his dummy.

"WHAT!?" he shouted back and turned around. Undyne was approaching him with a cell phone in her hand.

"Muffet wants to talk to you," she said with a slightly annoyed expression. As she handed the device over to him, she quietly hissed: "Seriously, you're gonna have to get a phone of your own if you keep seeing this girl."

"Bite me," Mad barked back at her and took the phone. Within a fraction of a second, his tone changed completely.

"Uuuuh, h-hi?" he squeaked and blushed. Undyne who was on her way back inside the house snorted. The ghost sticked his tongue at her back; he was almost about to snap but he didn't want to yell when Muffet was on the speaker.

"Hi, dearie!" she said. "How's your day?"

"Um, fine, I guess," Maddy replied. "Just enjoying the weather. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm 'enjoying' the weather too," Muffet groaned. "I forgot that my bedroom windows were open, and now I have a small flood upstairs."

"Oh gee! Do you... do you need some help?"

"Nah, don't worry, I've got this. But thank you." She giggled. "But actually, there is something you could help me with."

"I'm all ears!" said Maddy.

"Weeeell..." Muffet started to explain hesitantly. "There's this shop in Atlanta, and its owner would supposedly really love to sell my pastries."

"Whoa, **that's** big!"

"Right? The thing is, I've gotta meet with the owner all the way in Atlanta. Aaaand... I need someone to watch over Finn while I'm gone."

"Oh." Maddy has only gotten to see Muffet's pet twice before, and one of those times were him kind of spontaneously taking Finn for a walk while his girlfriend couldn't exit work.

"It would only be for a day. And two nights. I'm leaving this Thursday evening and I'll be back on Saturday morning. Would you do that for me? Please?"

"But why me?" asked the confused and slightly scared dummy. "I don't excell at taking care of anyone."

"I trust you!" Muffet simply replied, making him blush again. "And Finn seems to like you, so it's a win-win," she added with another chuckle.

"W-well..." Maddy didn't know what to say. No matter how hard he was trying to hide it in front of other people, he really liked her and he was willing to do anything for her sake; on the other hand, though, he was afraid of being in charge of Finn for an entire day and a half. It wasn't that he disliked the monster-pet; it was the responsibility. Snails were simple animals and very easy to look after, but anything bigger, smarter and faster, he had no idea how to handle. Plus, were something bad to happen to Finn on his watch, he would never let himself forget, and neither would Muffet probably.

"Pleeeease," he heard her mewl imploringly into his ear. It was so adorable that he sighed and gave up.  
"Fine, I'll do it. Just tell me **all** I'll have to know."

"Oh Maddy, you're the best!" Muffet exclaimed on the other side. "Don't worry, I'll tell you everything when I hand Finn over to you. Will you be home at five on Thursday?"

"I guess."

"Great! Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it."

"So... I gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok. I'll be looking forward to it."

"Me too. Ok, bye!"

"Bye!"

Then, there were a few seconds of silence.

"You still there?" Maddy asked eventually.

"Yup," Muffet replied, and laughed. "I don't wanna hang up."

"Me neither," he smiled. "Just do it."

"No, you do it first."

"No, you hang up first."

"No, **you** hang up first!"

"No, **YOU** -"

"Oh no, you're NOT playing that game with MY phone!" Undyne suddenly shouted from the house and walked swiftly towards the dummy. "You have five seconds, then I'm taking it back."

"Try to stop me," Maddy cried back at her and ran away with her phone still by his ear. She began to chase him around the yard with various curses on her mouth while Maddy and Muffet kept on playing the "you hang up first" game.

"Wow," Alphys who was watching the entire scene from behind a window said to herself. "I've never seen Mad so playful and happy before."


	2. The Departure

_I don't know if there's a canon regarding Finn's size. I've always pictured him about as big as a dog, so I'm sticking with it. :D_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1: The Departure**

"Are you serious?" Undyne asked with a troubled expression. "You're taking pets under MY roof and you didn't even have enough decency to ask me if it's ok?"

"What do you want me to do?" Maddy replied angrily. "Have him put in a shelter?"

"What I want," she grunted, "is for you to understand that this is still my house, and you can't just make decisions like that without my consent!"

"For crying out loud, I've been living here just as long as you have!"

"Yeah, outside!"

"That doesn't matter! This is my home just as much as it is yours, so I DO have a say in this matter!"

"Um, guys," Alphys stepped in between the fighting pair; "i-it's really not s-s-such a big deal, r-right? Finn behaves well, a-a-and as long as he doesn't m-make a mess, h-he won't be a problem. R-right, Undyne?"

The fish monster breathed out loudly. "I guess."

"You _guess_?" Maddy repeated threateningly, but came to his senses when he caught a pleading glare from Alphys. "Whatever. Undyne, I promise there won't be any trouble with Finn. Happy?"

She leaned forward and poked him in the nose with a warning. "One broken plate, and you're both out, you get it?"

"Yeah yeah, just get your hand off my face," he replied and walked away.

What neither Undyne or Alphys knew that Maddy himself wasn't sure if he would be able to keep that promise. Her doubts offended him, but at the same time made him question whether or not he was sufficient for that task.

"Whatever," he murmured eventually. "If Muffet trusts me, I can do this."

Before they knew it, Thursday afternoon was there. It was raining softly. Maddy didn't mind; he waited in front of the house and looked out for Muffet and her pet. And there they were in the distance; Muffet had an open umbrella above her head and in front of her Finn scuttled playfully, not wasting any opportunity to jump into a puddle. She also pulled a small purple wheeled suitcase behind her and carried another even smaller purple bag in her hand. It was pretty convenient that she had so many arms.

"Hi, dearie!" Muffet shouted and waved. "Sorry we're a bit late, I couldn't find an umbrella."

"Nah, it's fine," Maddy replied, happy to see her again. He glanced over to Finn.

"Hi, buddy!" he said.

"Muf," Finn barked back at him and smiled widely, with his tongue pouring out of his mouth.

"What'd I tell you? He can't wait to spend all this time with you," said Muffet and giggled. Then, she handed him the bag. "Here's all you're gonna need. His sleeping pillow, enough food for tomorrow, his ball -if it's nice weather tomorrow, go play with him outside -and his teddy bear, he can't sleep without it. Oh, and some treats for you too. As thanks," she added and blushed only a little bit.

"Gee, thank you," Maddy smiled as he took the bag from her.

"Take him for a walk at least two times tomorrow. And make sure he's never alone, he does tend to be a little grumpy when there's nobody around," Muffet continued. "I guess that's all. If you guys have any trouble, just give me a call, ok?"

"Ok, but don't worry, we got this," he ensured her. "So... do you have a few minutes to spare? For tea, perhaps?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. I already called a cab on the way here, he should be here any second now," the girl said, and her expression showed how much she wanted to stay as long as she could.

"Oh, alright, then."

They looked at each other, unsure of how to continue. Finn was looking at both of them alternately without a care in the world.

"Hey, how'd you find this guy from Atlanta, anyway?" Maddy asked. "You haven't told me much about him."

"Her," Muffet specified and laughed. "She was driving through the town a couple of weeks ago and happened to stop by at my shop. And my pastries charmed her so much that she offered me a deal!"

"Well, no wonder. Your pastries are just as sweet as you," he told her as his face turned bright red.

"Oh stop it," she chuckled again. Maddy had a feeling like he heard quiet giggling back in the house, but wisely chose not to turn around to find out if Undyne and/or Alphys were eavesdropping.

A yellow car emerged from the distance.

"Hey, it looks like your ride is here," he said and nodded towards the cab.

"Oh." Muffet looked. "Yup. So... Have a great time you guys, will you?" She dropped on her knees and snogged with Finn for a second. "I'm gonna miss you sooo much!"

"Muf!" Finn replied and reciprocated her tenderness. Maddy watched in amusement.

The cab stopped close by, and the driver honked.

"Ok, gotta go!" Muffet narrowed, handed Finn's leash over to Mad, and turned around. "Bye!"

"Uh, bye," the disappointed dummy replied.

"Just kidding, ahuhuhu!" she exclaimed and hugged him with all of her free arms. "I'll miss you too, of course," she purred into his ear.

"Me too," Maddy said in response and blushed yet again when Muffet gave him a peck on his nose. Then they smiled at each other one last time, and she walked towards the car and disappeared inside.

He looked behind her as the car began to move again; she sent him a blow kiss through the window and winked. And he kept on looking with a silly smile on his face for a good few seconds after the cab was gone. Then, he felt something squishy softly ramming into his leg-pole.

"What is it, buddy?"

"Muf."

Maddy snapped back into reality. It was still raining. "Come on now, Finn," he said and turned around. "We shouldn't be standing here in the rain."

His last word was still in the air when Finn ran inside the house with unimaginable speed, effectively pulling the leash out of the ghost's incorporeal hand. Mad hurried after him; he heard Undyne curse again.

"Are you kidding me with this crap?" she scolded him the second he peeked inside. "Muffet JUST left, and look what your pet's doing already!"

Finn was running back and forth through the house. Because he was wet, he was naturally leaving trails of water everywhere.

"Hey, settle down!" Mad shouted at him. The pet immediately calmed down and approached him with the same careless wide smile he always had.

"Muf?" was all he said in his defense.

"Great, you genius. Now I gotta clean up after you," Maddy snarled. "Undyne, a rag, please?"

She mumbled something rude, rushed into the kitchen and threw him the rag from there. It hit him right in his face.

"Watch it," he shouted back at her and proceeded to wipe the wet trails. Finn observed and occasionally hopped from place to place. Alphys prefered to quietly walk by and hid in the bedroom; Undyne watched Mad from the kitchen door with her arms crossed.

"Maybe you should dry him first, he's still dripping water wherever you've wiped up already," she advised him.

"Maybe YOU could help me with that," he spat out in response. "I can't do everything."

"He's your responsibility."

"Pretty please with sugar on top, will you help me or not?" Mad grunted. Undyne rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but that's one more you owe me. Come on, Finn," she beckoned the pet, and they vanished in the bathroom. Maddy kept on wiping up.

"I swear, I have no idea how Muffet manages to handle you, you're a pest," he heard her talk to Finn from the bathroom. "Hey, stop licking me, you dummy!"

"Excuse me!" Mad shouted.

"That's just an expression!" Undyne replied.

"Boy, we're not gonna be bored tomorrow, that's for sure," the ghost said to himself.


	3. The Crisis

_I've been thinking that Mad might actually be a very underrated character; he's probably much more powerful than meets the eye. For one, he has telekinetic powers, he's capable of throwing knives and holding things even though he has no arms. On top of that, he must have access to some kind of dimensional "storage" or perhaps a weird teleporting power to quickly summon his smol minions from thin air, not to mention his trusty knife. I can only think about one other monster with similar abilities -that, of course, being Sans. Mad's magic powers are probably very strong, only he doesn't seem to realise it. Plus he's basically immortal, at least when it comes to physical attacks.  
_ _I dunno, maybe I'm reading too much into this. :D But I still wonder if Maddy would make a sufficient boss in the genocide run._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: The Crisis**

It finally stopped raining in the evening. Finn took the opportunity and went on a thorough exploration of Undyne's yard. He came back a few minutes later covered in mud but happy as a hippo. Mad didn't even let him cross the doorstep this time; he immediately grabbed him and carried him to the bathtub, muttering some pretty scandalous words.

"STOP GIGGLING!" he screamed when he heard Undyne and Alphys laugh quietly from the hall.

"The things we do for love, am I right, Alphy?" said the fish lady and nudged her paramour with her elbow. The scientist chuckled again and left into the kitchen.

"I'd like to see YOU take care of this dirt loving son of a b-word," Mad grunted at her as he let the pet hop out of the bathtub and onto a towel; Finn shook and the drops of water splashed all around, mostly at the dummy himself.

"If I were in your position," Undyne suggested, "I'd make sure that Finn knew who's the boss. He just needs a firm hand over him."

"Example?" Mad's muffled voice asked through the towel which he was wiping his face with.

"Just say..." she turned towards Finn, leaned towards him and looked him in the eyes. "Alright, punk! No dinner for you unless you learn to respect my rules!"

"Geez, Undyne, you're gonna be a great mom some day," Mad said sarcastically. Judging by the dull thwack that they heard from the kitchen, Alphys probably dropped whatever she was holding at the moment on the floor. Finn waltzed away from the bathroom to inspect the situation.

"Intimidation," Undyne explained as she and Mad followed the pet, "is the best way to respect, and respect leads to authority."

"I don't know, if I'm too strict with him, he might start to hate me," the dummy spoke up his mind. When they entered the kitchen, Alphys was blushing, smiling like an idiot and putting a huge pot into one of the cabinets. Finn was curiously watching the open dishwasher; a few plates were still inside waiting to be put away.

"That's what I thought too when I was named head of the royal guard," Undyne continued. "But my soldiers realised soon enough that if I'm being strict with them, it's only for their own good. Well, most of them did," she added.

"What about those who didn't?" Mad asked and watched Finn carefully. He was slowly approaching the dishwasher, and the closer he approached it, the more nervous the ghost was.

Undyne laughed. "I basically made them do push-ups every day until they learned to stop complaining."

"HEY!" Maddy burst forth at the last second and snatched a plate which the pet was just pulling out of the dishwasher with his mouth. "Leave those dishes alone or you lose your teddy bear privileges!"

"Muf?"

"You heard me!"

Mad was looking at Finn threateningly. Finn was looking back at him with the same expression as always. The girls were looking at both of them and suppressed the urge to burst out laughing.

The pet then simply turned around, took a few steps towards the wall and sat in the corner.

"Teddy bear privileges?" said Undyne. "Really?"

"Shut up!" he shouted. "I don't know where that came from, I just... thought it would be an appropriate punishment."

"Well, he doesn't look like he understood you whatsover."

"See? Pets are harder to train than soldiers! They would at least know if they've done something wrong!"

"You did manage to save the plate, though. That's a success."

"Hmph," said Mad. "Hey, since I'm already holding it, can I serve Finn his dinner on it?"

"Sure. Just pray that he doesn't swallow it too. That was a joke," Undyne added quickly when she saw the look that Maddy gave her.

"Ha ha. This is gonna be the death of me, I swear."

"G-guys, you're being too h-harsh on him," Alphys joined the discussion. She sat down on the floor next to Finn and proceeded to scratch his back; he closed his eyes and made a blissful bubbling sound. "He j-just needs some TLC, right, pal?"

"Muf!"

"Easy for you to say, you have arms!" Mad exclaimed while wildly waving his plate around.

"S-should I build a robot for you? F-for animal petting purposes?" Both Alphys and Undyne snickered.

The dummy frowned; he almost felt as though some hot steam was escaping from all of his orifices. "Stop it."

"Hey, while we're on the subject, maybe animals aren't the only thing you'd want to pet, am I right?" Undyne provoked him further. "You **are** dating Muffet, after a-"

"I said STOP IT!" Mad screamed and threw the plate on the ground; it immediately broke into a dozen pieces. The girls' impish smiles faded away in an instant.

"I'm sick of dealing with this!" he yelled as he turned red with anger. "I've been having a tough time taking care of Finn even though I clearly have no idea how to do it, and all you've been doing all evening was giggle at me! If you think it's so funny, why don't you take him instead? Go tell Muffet that I'm incapable of looking after her pet and watch how she reacts, ooh, now THAT would be fun to watch, wouldn't it?"

Something squishy nudged his leg-pole.

"Muf."

Mad looked down. "What do you w-"

Finn was looking at him intently. He was smiling so innocently and carelessly that Maddy gulped and haven't even finished the question. He just couldn't bring himself to be angry at him. In the pet's eyes he could see that Finn really didn't want him to be mad.

"Pff, whatever," he said, still offended but kind of calmed down. He turned around. "I'll be outside."

In the yard, he floated around for a while mumbling something inarticulate. Then, he layed down in the grass and looked at the sky.

The clouds seemed to have finally disappeared with the last raindrops in the afternoon, so Mad was able to see the stars. He was, however, still too peeved to fully appreciate them.

"Stupid girls," he muttered to himself. "Stupid rain, stupid mud and stupid F-"

"Muf."

Finn came to join him; he simply sat down next to him and leaned against the dummy's body like there was no possibility of Mad protesting. They both stayed silent and motionless for a second; Mad was a bit tense first but relaxed once he realised how refreshing the pet's presence was.

He breathed out. "See?" he spoke to Finn. "Why can't you be like this the whole time? Everything would be so much easier if you just stayed a cuddly and lazy fella."

"Muf."

Maddy chuckled. "You know, sometimes I think you're just a big ignorant nitwit, but sometimes it feels like you really understand what I'm saying to you."

"Muf."

"Yeah. Just stay away from dirt, and we'll be cool."

Footsteps approached them. "Mad?" said Undyne.

"What," he replied.

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean anything what we said back there."

Mad breathed out. "Don't worry, I already forgot."

"I just wanted to tell you, me and Alphy will go shopping tomorrow, so you and Finn will have all day just for yourselves."

A while ago, he probably would have panicked that he's going to be left alone, without any help anywhere near. But Finn laying on him gave him the impression that things couldn't be that bad.

"Cool," he said out loud. "I like how you didn't even consider inviting me. Not that I wanna go with you, but still."

The fish lady laughed. "Trust me, you do NOT want to go shopping with any girl ever. I'm sure you'll learn that some day with Muffet, too."

Undyne turned around and took two steps towards the house, but then she stopped again. "Um, we're gonna watch a movie before bed, wanna join us?"

"Thanks, I'll think about OW!" Mad shouted when Finn suddenly jumped up, bounced off the dummy's belly and rushed inside.

"Well **he** seems to like the idea," Undyne commented on the pet's doing.

"Gotta go, too," Maddy said as he stood up. "I just remembered I still owe him his meal." _Even though he might not deserve it for jumping on me_ , he added in his head.


	4. The Visitation

_I had a thought that since this story is based on Sarah's already existing stories, it's basically a fanfiction of a fanfiction. #fanficception  
_ _Also sorry for the delay. School and stuff. BUT! I did manage to finally write the first half of a short story about Jerry which I promised to the readers of my previous fanfic, His Story. The Jerry short is called Left Behind and you can find it on my profile page if you're interested. Maybe you should, I don't think anyone has written a fanfic about Jerry yet. :D_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3: The Visitation**

Lucky for him, Undyne generously decided that the broken plate was actually her fault since she kept making fun of him; that way, their 'deal' was still valid. Mad suspected her that she didn't actually want to kick Finn out. Undyne was pretty hot headed and gave the impression of a strict and authoritative person, but she evidently didn't have the guts to actually let him down.

The rest of that evening was rather boring compared to everything that occurred before. The four of them watched some kind of cartoon about a bunny who wanted to be a cop; Mad was only there because he had to keep an eye on Finn who apparently wanted to be a part of anything that was going on in the house. The dummy really didn't want to enjoy the movie at first but grew fond of the story about halfway through -and cursed so loud during the last action-packed scenes that his companions had to pause it at one point and wait until he calmed down again.

"This is why I don't watch movies," he said later. "I just want to get in there and beat the hell out of the bad guys."

The girls allowed Finn to sleep in the hall; Mad has been offered the same and he did consider it, but ultimately decided that he was too used to sleeping outside, alone and on fresh air, so he rejected the offer. The pet didn't really seem to care as long as he had his teddy bear with him.

Mad had some pretty wild dreams. He somehow became a police officer and had to chase some animal that was leaving water trails all throughout Undyne's house; he never saw the criminal, but he had a feeling he knew who it was. Suddenly, he slipped on the wet floor and fell face first into the water which made him wake up.

He immediately realised he does indeed have a strangely wet face. When he slowly, still half asleep, opened his eyes, he saw Finn's head right in front of him, almost shining in the morning sunlight. Apparently, he had been licking the dummy's face for a while.

Mad screamed, jumped into the air and reflexively pulled out his knife, pointing it at the pet. The two of them were looking at each other for several seconds, one shaking and scared from his sudden unpleasant awakening, the other one with nothing but pure, simple minded joy that he got to see his friend again.

"Muf," Finn said eventually, turned around and walked back inside.

"You crazy anglerfish!" Mad shouted one minute later when he crossed the doorstep too, addressing Undyne who he suspected was the one who let Finn out. "You sent him to wake me up on purpose!"

"Good morning to you too, punching bag," Undyne replied from the kitchen; in the bathroom Alphys was snickering. "I don't know whatcha talking about."

"Ha ha ha. You're _so_ lucky I can't physically get angry this early," Mad snarled and entered the room. "Just make me a huge coffee and I'll forget about it, deal?"

"Sure, just let me finish breakfast," she agreed and swallowed a big spoon of cereal.

The small devil was sitting beside Undyne, looking up at her bowl of cereal with a very interested face.

"Your pet looks hungry, by the way," said the fish lady.

"He's not **my** pet," Mad replied and sleepily grabbed Muffet's bag to look for Finn's breakfast. He jumped up and ran to him, undoubtedly aware of the Dummy's intention. Much to his surprise, Finn had enough patience -or training, perhaps -to wait until the food was actually on a plate which Mad placed on the ground. Because he was still only beginning to wake up, this simple preparation took about two unnecessarily long minutes.

"Cause any more trouble today and I swear this is the last meal I'm ever giving you," he told Finn.

"Muf," the pet replied and turned his attention towards his breakfast.

Undyne was up by the kitchen counter and tinkered with the coffee maker. "Oh come on already, it was cute!"

"I kinda believe _watching_ it from the distance might have been." Mad sat down on a chair by the table and smacked his head right onto said table. "Just dig me a hole in the ground and throw me into it."

"Too much effort for one morning," the woman laughed.

Soon, everyone's had their breakfast and the girls were ready to leave. Maddy was somehow able to survive that morning thanks to Undyne's coffee and Finn's lightly contagious enthusiasm about everything in general.

"Stay out of trouble you two!" Undyne said to Mad while she and Alphys were leaving for the bus.

"Gee, thanks for the tip," he rolled his eyes.

The two girls walked into the distance holding hands. The sight made him think about Muffet; he also realised that now that Undyne was gone, he wasn't going to hear his girlfriend's voice the whole day.

"Man, I guess I should really get a phone some day," he muttered to himself.

"Muf."

"Oh yeah, you're here," Mad looked down at Finn who was watching him intently with a smile. "You know what, since we have the whole day ahead of us, why don't we go visit Napstablook? I haven't seen him in a while, anyway."

The day was bright and warm for a change -inconveniently for someone who wasn't used to sunlight at all. As they walked through the town, Mad was silently cursing the Sun and seriously considering bringing a parasol next time he'd go outside. Finn wasn't any help either: when the dummy stopped in a shadow of some house for a moment, the pet simply kept walking forward, and he'd probably abandon Mad right where he was had he not been attached to a leash.

"Hey!" the ghost shouted. "Can't you see I'm taking a break?"

"Muf?"

"Of course you can't," he sighed.

And then, a wild chipmunk appeared at the opposite side of the road, running through grass from one tree to another. Both of them looked at it and froze for a second.

"No," Mad said to Finn in a threatening tone. "Don't even think about HEY GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

Finn, completely unaware of the dummy's presence, sprinted across the road and began chasing the terrified chipmunk around before it wisely chose to run up a tree. The pet would have probably attempted to follow it, but Mad took out his knife and threw it at the leash which Finn was still pulling behind him. The blade went precisely through the handle, effectively pinning it to the ground. The little imp noticed something was out of the ordinary and finally turned around.

"Do you have any idea," Mad began to scold Finn, "what could have happened? Just one car driving by, and that would be it! You can't just chase down every squirrel you see!"

"Muf?"

"I mean, look at the poor thing! You scared her to death!"

"Muf," said Finn.

"Squeak," said the chipmunk and maliciously threw a wallnut at Mad; it hit him directly in the head.

The dummy groaned and turned red.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD! I'M GONNA HAMMER YOUR FACE INTO THIS TREE!" he yelled, propelled himself into the air and proceeded to chase the animal through the branches instead of Finn.

About a minute later, he floated back to the ground breathing heavily. The chipmunk managed to get away unnoticed and was now mocking the dummy from an adjacent tree, but Mad didn't know that.

"Muf?"

"Oh, don't give me that look," Maddy spat out. He was embarrassed. "I _still_ have the right to lecture you about not chasing squirrels."

They continued to walk to Blooky's house in bad mood. At least on Mad's side; Finn seemed happy that the two of them got to see a chipmunk _and_ do some exercise.

"Here we are," the dummy said when they arrived. "It's nice to be someplace with no jerks for a change."

The house had a literal small bell by the front door with a rope attached to it. It was a small thing Napstablook decided to put there when he realised that his dummy-cousin didn't have any fingers to ring an electronic bell.

Mad caught the hanging rope in his mouth and pulled. The bell swung and the high pitched hollow sound resonated through the environment. Finn flinched and barked at the unexpected sound.

"De quied, you, ish okay," the dummy told him. Then he remembered that he still had the rope in his mouth and let go of it.

 _"...hello?"_ a shy voice asked from the other side of the door.

"Hey, Blooks, it's me. And Finn."

"Muf."

 _"...oh. Hi."_ said Napstablook and opened the door. Finn immediately jumped forward and passionately greeted him. The ghost petrified on place, not sure how to respond.

"You maniac, give him some space," Mad whirred. "Sorry. He's like super excited about everything."

 _"...I see. So... What are you doing here?"_ Blooky slowly and carefully, as if he was afraid to break him, pat Finn on the top of his head. The pet closed his eyes and smiled blissfully.

"Oh, you know. I had to take him on a walk, and I figured I'd stop by, see how you're doing."

 _"...oh. Well..."_

"Who's that, Blooky?" a third voice called from inside the house.

"Who's that, Blooky?" Mad repeated. That voice was familiar, but he couldn't quite connect it to a face.

 _"...it's my cousin,"_ Napstablook shouted back to the stranger, allthough his shouting voice was more of a slightly amplified whisper. _"...Madstablook."_

"Oh. Err, hi?" said the voice, and its originator emerged from one of the doors.

 _"...sorry, we... weren't expecting company..."_ said Blooky to the dummy and _blushed_. That was a weird sensation for Mad to see in his cousin. He looked at the girl behind the ghost's back.

"Um, hello," he said. "You're Shyren, am I right?"


	5. The Overcrowding

_Big, BIG sorry for the unexpected pause! I guess I needed the Summer holidays more than I expected; I pulled back on almost any kind of creative activity for almost a month. But nevertheless, here's the next chapter! :D  
I'm actually hoping I'll be able to finish this story before the end of August. I'm about to start a long Vocaloid fanfiction on August 31st which will be the 10 year anniversary of Hatsune Miku's release, and I'd love to have my other works finished by then. We'll see. Some of you may already know the eternal struggle between me and deadlines._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4: The Overcrowding**

"So, like, what's the deal with you two?" Mad asked quietly when he and Blooky were alone in the ghost's living room, sitting next to each other on a couch. "And how do I not know anything?"

 _"...well, we... you know... work together,"_ his cousin replied while staring defiantly at the floor.

"I figured as much. But you don't _look_ like that's the only thing that bonds you two."

Shyren giggled somewhere in the distance. She stayed behind a little longer to play with Finn. Muffet's pet enjoyed her attention so much that Mad was afraid he might explode from all the happiness.

Maybe Alphys was right, he thought before he and his cousin disappeared in the living room. Perhaps Finn does indeed only need unconditional love and attention to turn into the best, most behaved pet in the universe.

Napstablook sighed. _"...things are... strange between us. We wanted to meet together to... work on some new material, but..."_ He gulped and blushed again. _"...lately I've been... unable to concentrate on work when... she's around. And I... don't... know what to think of this..."_

"Wow, look at you!" The dummy said with a smile. "Who would have thought. Little Blooky has fallen in lmmmph!"

 _"Don't say it out loud!"_ Blooks whispered as loudly as he could with his hand over Mad's mouth. _"I mean... I don't... know if... that's... um... it's... just..."_

"You're confused, I understand," Maddy nodded when the ghost pulled his hand back. "I've been the same way with Muffet."

 _"...you were?"_

"You bet!" The dummy looked out of the window, remembering what an idiot he was when he met Muffet for the first few times.

 _"...oh. I thought... there's something wrong... with me..."_ Blooks stuttered. _"...I mean... it's like an illness... but you're actually happy that you're sick..."_

"Absolutely. If I'm completely honest," Mad looked at his cousin encouragingly; "a few weeks back, I wouldn't give two damns about any of this. But now that I know what it's like... Man, I'm happy that you get to experience the same thing that I did with Muffet. And still do."

The ghost smiled. _"Really?"_

"You know it."

 _"...wow. Thank you..."_

"Hey, Mad!" Shyren spoke up at the door; she was holding the purring Finn in her arms. "Are you aware that you're in possession of the cutest little thing in the universe? Well, maybe second cutest," she added and took a quick, inconspicuous peek in Napstablook's direction.

The ghost immediatelly turned red all over his body. Lucky for him, Finn stole everyone's attention at the moment as he jumped down at the floor and hopped right into Mad's lap while barking affectionately.

"Ow," said the dummy. "I guess. He can be a real jerk when he wants to."

"Muf?"

"You heard me," Mad assured the pet, but smirked because he was only half serious.

"Oh come on, what could this fuzzy ball of adorableness possibly do wrong?" Shyren asked.

"Well, let's see: In the last... 16 hours or so, he caused a small flood in Undyne's house, made me break a plate, scared me to death while waking me up this morning, and chased a squirrel all around the street. But sure, fuzzy ball. Whatever you say."

The singer giggled. "I take it you've never had a pet before, right?"

"No," Mad replied and looked at Napstablook. "Pets were always kind of your thing, right, Blooky?"

 _"...if by 'pets' you mean our snail farm, then... yes..."_ said the ghost with only a hint of irritation in his tone. Maddy remembered that the snail farm was originally supposed to be his responsibility too, before he ran away from home all those years ago.

"Right, but I don't think the snails ever caused as much chaos as Finn," he continued quickly before he could get overwhelmed by guilt.

"You see, taking care of an animal isn't much different from having a baby," Shyren suggested.

"I don't have any experience with that either, but go on."

"You're his new parent for the weekend," she smiled. "Of course Finn's going to test you. He wants to see if you're... worthy of being a parent to him. You have to earn his respect."

Finn demonstrated his standpoint on the subject by burping softly right under Mad's face.

"Excuse me! I hope I'm not bothering you up here!" the dummy growled.

"Muf."

"Of course."

Shyren laughed, and even Napstablook chuckled quietly. She reached out and scratched Finn on the top of his head. "I won't lie, it's hard to establish your role as a leader. But Finn has to see what your mutual relationship in the pack is, and if you give him one image, he'll stick to it."

"The pack?"

"Yup. The worst you can do is to not be a part of his pack. It's the same with bullies: if you're not in someone's group, they don't have to feel guilty about hurting you."

"Gee, you don't have to tell me," Mad frowned and would have probably crossed his arms if he had any.

"Oh my, I'm sorry!" Shyren exclaimed. "I forgot about... well..."

"It's fine," he grunted. "You weren't even there."

"Well actually, I sort of was," she said. "The same kids who bullied you were picking on my sister just because she was sick. I know what it's like, even if it's second hand."

"Oh."

The three monsters stayed in an awkward silence for a moment. Finn even lifted his head and looked around, confused by the sudden change of pace.

 _"...well, it worked out fine in the end... right?"_ said Napstablook after a while. _"...your sister is... alive and well... and, Mad... well... you're here... and nobody is... hurting you..."_

Shyren laughed once again. "Thank you! You're the real optimist, Blooky."

Mad almost asked in shock since when was his cousin, of all people, the optimistic one, but decided to keep his mouth shut. Blooks' relationship with Shyren, whatever it was or wherever it was headed, apparently had a good influence on this level at least.

That was the moment the bell rang for the second time that day. Finn barked.

 _"...oh? ...who could it be now?"_ Napstablook asked and floated away to anwer the door.

"Poor Blooky. Two unexpected guests in one morning," said Shyren, evidently amused.

"Make it three," Maddy replied and looked at Finn. The curious pet jumped down on the ground and went after Blooky to see what was going on.

"We weren't, um... interrupting anything, were we?" The dummy continued, slightly nervous all of a sudden.

Shyren turned her questioning eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

"N-nothing," he replied quickly. "It's just... I wasn't expecting Blooky to have company. Not that you're an inconvenience or anything..." Mad blushed and wished he never opened his mouth.

To his surprise and relief, Shyren giggled. "You're not really great with words, you know that? I guess that runs in the family."

Before he could respond to that, they heard a high-pitched squeak from the hall and rapid footsteps; then, Finn sprinted through the room, crouched in the corner and shivered anxiously.

The reason of this action spoke up back in the hall, answering Mad and Shyren the unasked question. Maddy recognised his voice immediately.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, for the love of- METTATON!" he yelled back and peeked through the door. His robotic cousin was standing there with a confused and troubled expression. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! The second I rose my hand and talked to him, he got scared and ran away, I don't know why. Oh, and, hi, Maddy."

"Yeah, up yours," the dummy retorted as he moved closer.

 _"...now, now..."_ Napstablook hovered in between his two cousins before they could start to fight. _"...I think... Finn just wasn't... expecting... you... to... be... um... alive... Mettaton..."_

"That's ridiculous, he's got nothing to fear, right?" said Mettaton and rushed to the living room.

"No, don't- METT-" Mad tried to stop him, but it was too late. They heard a few sweet words followed by another one of Finn's scared squeaks, and then the pet ran out of the room and straight up the stairs to the upper floor.

"Okay, I get it!" the robot shouted. "I won't be trying to win him over for now. Hi, Shyren, by the way."

"If only you weren't so stubborn," the dummy grunted and moved forward. "I'll go get him. Hope I can convince him you're fine."

"Sorry again!" Mettaton said while Mad was passing the room.

"Hmph," he replied.

In the corridor above the stairs, Finn was nowhere to be found. Maddy looked around and saw that one door was open; he entered the room which turned out to aparently be Blooky's bedroom.

"Finn?" he asked into the seemingly empty space.

"Muf," something replied quietly under the bed.

"Come on out, you maniac. Mettaton's not going to hurt you. Even though I'd really like to hurt _him_ right now," he added to himself.

"...muf?" A pair of wide eyes glowed in the shadows. Then, Finn slowly crawled out, whimpered, and rubbed his body on Mad's leg.

"Heh. You actually trust me enough to protect you, don't you?" Maddy smiled. Out of nowhere, he felt a lot more confident about this whole pet sitting thing: If Finn was looking for protection by his side, the dummy must have somehow earned his trust and respect.

"I bet you just weren't ready for a big talking pile of metal, huh?" he asked his little buddy. "Don't worry, he's a good person. Mostly."

"Muf."

"So what do you say? Ready to go back downstairs?"

Finn blinked devotedly at him, but suddenly sniffed and looked around.

"What is it?" Mad asked and watched as the pet jumped on the bed with unvawering certainty and looked at a purple fluffy hair band which was lying on Napstablook's end table. It was absolutely out of question that his cousin would wear this.

"That's odd," Maddy said to himself as he picked the hair band up. The most reasonable explanation was that it belonged to Shyren, but... He could have sworn he saw Muffet wearing one of these just the other day.


End file.
